It would seem that winter is indeed on it’s way here in the northland. And after last year’s onslaught, I have to admit to being a little bit worried about it. We had major blizzards in March and April of last year, which made for a very long spring. The picture at left is of our dog in one such storm. You can almost make out the snow bank behind him. It was a snow drift that extended 3 feet above the top of our steps. All in all, about a 6-7 foot drift. And when the snow melts? The river that is across the street was at almost 3 times it’s normal level. Many of the neighborhoods in the area had sandbag dikes protecting them from flooding and we were in constant danger of the extra water overwhelming the sewer system and leaving us without a sewer.

So, it is with some trepidation that I anticipate winter. That, and I don’t much care for the -20 temperatures. Or the -70 wind chills. Or the feet of snow. Although the snow wouldn’t be so bad if the city would plow the roads. It seems that more often than not, they wait for the snow to stop and get completely packed on the road before they plow. Last year, at the peak, there was a step up from the curb to the street “surface”. That”s at least 5 inches of build up. I’ll give them some credit, as last year was a heavy snowfall year, but it’s pretty similar on any other year as well.